General Surgery Residency Teaching Hospitals

The FAU General Surgery Residency Program is centered around 5 major area hospitals that have come together to collaborate with the Charles E Schmidt College of Medicine at Florida Atlantic University to form the basis for high quality clinical training for a number of graduate medical education programs.  The hospitals include Bethesda Hospital East, Boca Raton Regional Hospital, Delray Medical Center, St. Mary's Medical Center, and West Boca Medical Center.

The goal of this collaboration is to provide our residents and students with a comprehensive array of outstanding clinical services with a large and varied case volume, performed by our high quality surgical specialists.

Together, our teaching hospitals are providing high-end, cost-effective health and health-related services to the people of Palm Beach County, across the entire range of ages, and a varied ethnic and socio-economic population.

In addition, Florida Atlantic University and the College of Medicine have partnered with the University of Florida Health - Shands Hospital to provide our surgical residents with excellent and in depth exposure to transplantation surgery and burn surgery at these high end, high volume academic teaching centers in the region.

Bethesda Hospital East

Bethesda Hospital East building

Bethesda Hospital East is a part of Baptist Health South Florida, and is a community-based not-for-profit, tertiary care hospital offering a full array of healthcare services, including pediatric and maternal-fetal services [PICU, NICU], a 28-bed inpatient rehabilitation facility, comprehensive cardiovascular services, Acute Care Surgery services, and advanced Robotic Surgery. The hospital has over 400 beds, with over 19,000 admissions, 112,500 outpatient visits and 58,000 ER visits each year.

Bethesda Hospital East has regionally recognized vascular and general surgeons who attract complex patients. Although not a state verified trauma center, the hospital serves as the primary site for trauma care for its catchment area and provides care for a significant number of patients with blunt and penetrating trauma. The hospital is continuously has been Joint Commission accredited and, among other awards and accreditations, received an “A” rating by The Leap Frog Group for safety and avoidance of errors. All rotations at Bethesda Hospital East are fully staffed and supervised by expert faculty surgeons; the residents will be exposed to a model of both full-time employed faculty surgeons, as well as private practice surgeons in a multi-disciplinary and multi-professional team care approach. The residents will complete the following rotations at Bethesda Hospital East: General Surgery and General & vascular Surgery, In addition to the clinical rotations, the facility offers access for the residents in Quality Improvement [QI, hospital wide committee participation, CLER effort], scholarship, and simulation.

For more information, visit Bethesda Hospital's website.

Boca Raton Regional Hospital

Boca Raton Regional Hospital Building

Boca Raton Regional Hospital has evolved from a community hospital into one of the preeminent tertiary medical centers in Florida, offering a full range of medical services. The hospital is located one mile from the Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine Campus and will house the program's administrative office. The hospital has over 400 beds, over 19,000 admissions, 180,000 outpatient visits and over 40,000 ER visits per year; it serves as a regional center for oncology, heart disease and neurosciences, and recently added a state-of-the-art Women's health Center, serving as the basis for comprehensive breast disease and gynecologic care.

The Hospital has been Joint Commission rated as "Top Performer" for surgical care and “A” rated by The Leap Frog Group, for safety and avoidance of errors. All rotations are fully staffed and supervised by expert faculty surgeons; the residents will be exposed to a model of full-time employed faculty surgeons, as well as private practice surgeons, in a multi-disciplinary and multi-professional team care approach. At Boca Regional, the residents will complete the following rotations: Surgery 1 [Red], Surgery 2 [Blue], Anesthesia/Pre-OP, Breast Surgery, Cardiac Surgery, Surgical Critical Care, Vascular Surgery, GI/Surgical Endoscopy, Plastic Surgery and Wound Management. In addition to the clinical rotations, the facility offers exposure for the residents in Systematic Quality Improvement [SQI, hospital wide committee participation, CLER effort], and scholarship.

For more information, visit Boca Raton Regional Hospital's Physician Liaison information page.

Delray Medical Center

Delray Medical Center building

Delray Medical Center is a community-based acute care hospital that offers a wide range of specialized medical and surgical services. The hospital is certified as Level I trauma center for adults and children, and has It has over 490 beds, 18,000 admissions, 79,000 outpatient visits, and 42,000 ER visits per year. Five separate Intensive Care Units support care of the surgery, trauma, medical, neurosurgical and cardiac/medical patients.

 As a for profit site of Tenet Corporation, Delray Medical Center is staffed mainly by private practice specialists and specialty groups under contract with the hospital. The broad-based surgical specialties include General and Emergency Surgery, Trauma Surgery, Surgical Critical Care, Surgical Oncology, Neurosurgery, Orthopedic Surgery, Gynecology and Gynecologic Oncology, as well as Minimally invasive and Bariatric Surgery. The hospital has been the recipient of the Healthgrades ‘America’s 50 Best’ and ‘Distinguished Hospital Award - Clinical Excellence’ awards™ for nine years in a row, has been listed by the Joint Commission rated as "Top Performer" for surgical care, and received an “A” rating by The Leap Frog Group for safety and avoidance of errors. All rotations are fully staffed and supervised by expert faculty surgeons; the residents will be exposed to a model of both full-time employed faculty surgeons, as well as private practice surgeons.

For more information, visit Delray Medical Center's website.

St. Mary's Medical Center

St. Mary's Medical Center building

St. Mary’s Medical Center, a Tenet Health facility, provides comprehensive medical services for both adults and children. The hospital has over 460 beds, with 17,000 admissions, 117,000 outpatient visits and 47,000 ER visits each year; its dedicated Children’s Hospital, the only such freestanding center in the area, offers a wide array of specialized services, including pediatric surgery a pediatric trauma center and emergency department, neonatal and pediatric critical care services, pediatric cancer services and adolescent bariatrics. St. Mary’s is certified as Level I trauma center and provides emergency and injury care for a higher risk urban population and a significant population of underinsured and urban minority patients.

 In addition, the hospital houses a comprehensive stroke center, orthopedics and rehabilitation center, and surgical weight loss center. The hospital is Joint Commission accredited and has received n “A” rating by The Leap Frog Group for safety and avoidance of errors. All rotations are fully staffed and supervised by expert faculty surgeons; the residents will be exposed to a model of both full-time employed faculty surgeons, as well as private practice surgeons in a multi-disciplinary and multi-professional team care approach. The residents will complete the following rotations at St Mary’s Medical Center: Pediatric Surgery, and Trauma/Acute Care Surgery. In addition to the clinical rotations, the facility offers access and exposure for the residents in: scholarship and simulation.

For more information, visit St. Mary's Medical Center's website.

West Boca Medical Center

West Boca Medical Center building

As a smaller community-based facility, West Boca Medical Center is an acute care medical/surgical hospital known for its surgical specialty programs, including robotic surgery. The hospital has 195 beds, 10,000 admissions, 67,000 outpatient visits and 32,000 ER visits per year. The hospital is Joint Commission accredited and recently earned the commission’s “Top Performer on Key Quality Measures” rating, as well as an “A” rating by The Leap Frog Group. An opposite in patient demographics to Delray Medical Center, in general younger patients and families use West Boca Medical Center, leading to a larger proportion of outpatient and 23-hour-stay procedures, including a large number of hernias, minimally invasive procedures, and breast surgery procedures.

The Surgery rotation at West Boca Hospital will be fully staffed and supervised by expert faculty surgeons, mostly in private practice, and organized in an apprenticeship model, where the residents follow faculty surgeons from the office to the operating room, allowing them to experience greater continuity of care and understanding of outpatient surgery.

For more information, visit West Boca Medical Center's website.

University of Florida Health - Shands Hospital

University of Florida Health - Shands Hospital building

The University of Florida Health – Shands Hospital Burn Center is one of the leading burn treatment facilities in the nation and the premier burn center in northern Florida, verified by the American Burn Association. Located within Shands Hospital, and an integrated part of the University of Florida Health System, the Burn Center provides comprehensive burn care from infants to adults, ranging from the initial resuscitation phase through long-term rehabilitation. The Burn Center includes a state-of-the-art burn Intensive Care Unit, a specialized burn surgical floor, a burn rehabilitation therapy area, a burn clinic, and a burn research laboratory.

The surgical residents will rotate on the burn  and transplantation services at University of Florida - Shands Hospital for a total of 6 weeks during their PGY II year. In particular residents will be able to participate in the care of patients with second- and higher-degree burns ≥ to 10 % of the total body surface area, burns that involve the face, hands, feet, genitalia, perineum or major joints, electrical burns, including lightning injury, chemical burns, Inhalation injury, and burns with concomitant trauma. The rotation is fully staffed and supervised by expert faculty surgeons, specializing in Acute Care Surgery, Burn Surgery and Plastic Surgery, and residents will practice in a multidisciplinary environment to achieve optimal outcomes. As a site for ACGME accredited residency programs [including surgery] the institution has extensive experience in the education of students, residents and fellows; while on rotation the residents will participate in all educational activities offered by the site. Clinical and basic science research is integral to the mission of the University of Florida Health System and the Shands Hospital Burn Center, and the Burn Center faculty is highly active in research and scholarship; the residents will be able to participate in scholarship projects both during and off rotation.

For more information, visit the Shands Hospital Burn Center website.

Additional Information
The Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine offers students a variety of educational programs and degrees.
Address
Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine
Florida Atlantic University
777 Glades Road, BC-71
Boca Raton, FL 33431